I want to be clear that I meant she didn't skate badly considering her injuries. As Nigel pointed out, the decline we have seen with Rachael was clearly tied with her injuries. That said, I think it's unfair to compare a injured Rachael that the healthy Rachael we saw in the 2010 season. That's why, IF she recovers from these injuries, I hope she will come back because I think if she was healthier she would have more to give.

If it turns out her situation is more like Kimmie's where injuries will keep her out for good, then that's just how it goes.

It is silly to think things would ever be how they were in 2010 for her. She is a full time college student who can only practice as much skating as she can fit in, healthy or not, her body has changed significantly since and is no longer condusive to great jumping and now makes her skating look extremely heavy at the best of times. Furthermore she was the darling of the USFSA who she has lost major support and status with and probably burnt bridges irrepairrably with the 2011 Worlds fiasco, and she was then by default their best option as the only consistent skater they had then. None of that is the case now, it is a whole new World compared to 2010 for her.

I wholeheartedly disagree her decline is solely based on injuries. I predicted after the 2011 Nationals (where she wasnt injured) that would be the last time we ever saw her make a World team barring a miracle. Her fall since has been even more dramatic than I predicted, but I could see it coming a mile away all the same.

It is silly to think things would ever be how they were in 2010 for her. She is a full time college student, her body has changed significantly since, she was the darling of the USFSA who she has lost major support and status with and probably burnt bridges irrperably with the 2011 Worlds fiasco, and she then was by default their best option as the only consistent skater they had then. None of that is the same now.

All we know definitively is that 1.) She is out for the 2012-2013 season 2.) Injuries have hampered her for the last 2.5 years, likely causing the decline in results (I'd argue she still had some injury during 2011 nationals, though they were not as bad as we've seen last season or now).

All I'm saying that I'm hoping that perhaps she can come back from injury and give a few more great skating performances she can be proud of. If that doesn't happen, well then that's that.

It is silly to think things would ever be how they were in 2010 for her. She is a full time college student, her body has changed significantly since, she was the darling of the USFSA who she has lost major support and status with and probably burnt bridges irrperably with the 2011 Worlds fiasco, and she then was by default their best option as the only consistent skater they had then. None of that is the same now.

Agreed--up until 2010, there were only a handful of consistent American ladies. Now that's all changing with the arrival of the massively talented Gracie Gold, Alissa Czisny, Mirai Nagasu and, of course, Ashley Wagner. These past two years have been instrumental in bringing them to the front of the FS scene, and they've grown up watching the skating of legends like Cohen and Kwan. I don't doubt that Flatt is on her way out, especially with her injuries, since there's a slim-to-none chance that she'll be able to make a full return to her pre-Olympics condition quick enough to challenge the rising stars of the new horde of Americans.

I just want to say that whatever comes next for Rachael I sincerely wish her luck. I think her announcement is very tastefully worded. While I do not wholly understand why she chose to compete at SA, and while I doubt she will return to competitive skating after this, I do think she has had a respectable career that many other skaters would envy. Hopefully she will find happiness in her future endeavors.

Agreed--up until 2010, there were only a handful of consistent American ladies. Now that's all changing with the arrival of the massively talented Gracie Gold, Alissa Czisny, Mirai Nagasu and, of course, Ashley Wagner.

Aside from Ashley (and Gracie who wasn't around), the girls are even more inconsistent than they were in 2010. Nationals the last few years have been underwhelming and I don't see how that is at all changing.

True, the only sure thing right now is Ashley. The 2nd spot for Worlds is fairly open now, although Flatt was never going to factor into that regardless. However I do think the U.S women are stronger than 2010 as a whole and this will be proven when they regain 3 spots for the first time since 2008, something they couldnt even do in very weak fields in both 2011 and 2012 (this years Worlds field will be much stronger, thats a given). They atleast now have a clear leader (Ashley), very promising up and comers (Gao, Zawadzki, Gold), and solid veterans with proven potential to challenge the Worlds best (Nagasu, Czisny, though I think Czisny is probably done as a threat). In 2010 they had nobody that they could have confidence in except for Flatt, and she was capable of easily doing 7 triples every performance, triple-triples, and skated with some semblance of speed and presentation.

True, the only sure thing right now is Ashley. The 2nd spot for Worlds is fairly open now, although Flatt was never going to factor into that regardless. However I do think the U.S women are stronger than 2010 as a whole and this will be proven when they regain 3 spots for the first time since 2008, something they couldnt even do in very weak fields in both 2011 and 2012 (this years Worlds field will be much stronger, thats a given). They atleast now have a clear leader (Ashley), very promising up and comers (Gao, Zawadzki, Gold), and solid veterans with proven potential to challenge the Worlds best (Nagasu, Czisny, though I think Czisny is probably done as a threat). In 2010 they had nobody that they could have confidence in except for Flatt, and she was capable of easily doing 7 triples every performance, triple-triples, and skated with some semblance of speed and presentation.

Ashley is still untested as a defending champion, as someone else on this forum mentioned earlier. We don't know how she'll perform under pressure from the federation and her own high expectations, but if all goes well, she has that first Worlds spot for sure.

Between Christina, Gracie, and Agnes, Gracie has an 80-85% chance of getting the second spot, assuming that all three skate their best. The other two lack the wow-factor that Gracie brings to the ice in terms of spunk and pomp--she's technically brilliant, and her artistry has improved tremendously since last season. She also gets the most support from the federation as of now, which will have a significant impact on who gets picked.

I don't expect Alissa to fully recover from her injury by early next year--at least, not enough to make a serious bid for the Nats podium. That leaves Mirai, who will be a formidable challenger to all Worlds hopefuls. She didn't perform too well at Nats last year, which leads me to expect that she'll rally to try and outskate the less experienced Gracie.

Agreed--up until 2010, there were only a handful of consistent American ladies. Now that's all changing with the arrival of the massively talented Gracie Gold, Alissa Czisny, Mirai Nagasu and, of course, Ashley Wagner.

let's see:

Gold is untested/new to the scene

Czisny is injured

Nagasu is on the rebound

so...that leaves only Wagner.
________
ETA:

Ashley is still untested as a defending champion, as someone else on this forum mentioned earlier. We don't know how she'll perform under pressure from the federation and her own high expectations

This is kind of sad but I can tell many on this board think Flatt's time has come and gone. I do hate to say this but I think we might not see her again. With school the injury and if she doesn't keep up the conditioning there is a tendency to put on weight and lose some of that flexibility it will be hard for her to rise again. Though I do see her in the 4 to 6 range at US Nationals and even top three if everyone bombs. But it means she will go into the Oly year with the penultimate season a wash now.

It is silly to think things would ever be how they were in 2010 for her. She is a full time college student who can only practice as much skating as she can fit in, healthy or not, her body has changed significantly since and is no longer condusive to great jumping and now makes her skating look extremely heavy at the best of times. Furthermore she was the darling of the USFSA who she has lost major support and status with and probably burnt bridges irrepairrably with the 2011 Worlds fiasco, and she was then by default their best option as the only consistent skater they had then. None of that is the case now, it is a whole new World compared to 2010 for her.

I wholeheartedly disagree her decline is solely based on injuries. I predicted after the 2011 Nationals (where she wasnt injured) that would be the last time we ever saw her make a World team barring a miracle. Her fall since has been even more dramatic than I predicted, but I could see it coming a mile away all the same.

Christina Gao is a full-time student at a top university and seems to be doing fine. I think the issue with Rachael is physical - her body maturing, the injuries - and trying to work through the injuries rather than taking the time off to heal has led to poor results and the gradual loss of support from her federation, something that no skater can afford. But the physical issues were the antecedents to the loss of federation support.

I wish her all the best; she had some good achievements over the years and seems to be in a good direction in her life.

Glad he took a broader look at things rather than use the piece as an opportunity to pick on Rachael some more. It was a pleasant surprise. He does have a decent analysis over who can be the No. 2 lady in 2014. (I guess he's assuming that we won't gain the third spot for now...)